Speaking

Everything is accelerating

I believe technology has outsized effect on industry and society. Understanding the principles of technological change is rapidly becoming a fundamental management (and life) skill. I enjoy thinking and talking about these issues and have presented my thoughts in corporate and public environments.

Content

Overview

Technological transformation can often seem chaotic, generating unpredictable change in unexpected places. By looking at the underlying forces behind technology it is possible to develop a better understanding of how change might unfold. From a historical and economic perspective, technological development can be downright predictable, obeying patterns over decades.

The presentation explores historical and future technology from the perspective of its underlying patterns. Fundamental principles such as exponential change indicate how information technology has become the dominant economic force of our age. Inseparable from exponential change are unintended consequences, the unpredictable yet guaranteed side-effects caused by accelerating change.

All technological development is built on previously existing technologies, a principle referred to as combinatorial evolution. Every innovation process is constrained to working with existing developments, and understanding this pattern can yield a deeper understanding of future possibilities. The presentation further examines the relationship between science fiction and science fact, indicating how imagination instructs innovation.

In an age of rapid technological development, the role of humanity needs fundamental consideration. Centaurs are the combination of humans with machine intelligence, representing a framework for successful future augmentation.